Amberstar is a large, colourful
and enjoyable RPG. The programmers' objective was to out-Ultima
the guys at Origin. Having never played an Ultima game whether
they've succeeded or not I don't know. What I can say is that the
control system is excellent once you've sussed out that the
manual, though seemingly comprehensive, does not provide all the
answers to which icon does what. You can't beat a bit of hands-on
experience.

I understand that folks trying to
play off floppies on the Amiga have had a problem, but the guy I
spoke to at Thalion in Germany seemed to think all was OK now.
Playing off a hard drive with only 1 meg you'll need to use
[Control]-[D] to cut out Workbench loading.

The task is to find 13 parts of
the Amberstar and join them in a special place to allow the party
access to the Fortress of Godsbane and thus smite down the
nasties. Piece of cake!

The graphic presentations come in
four types of display. The opening scene finds your character in
Twinlake Graveyard in an Ultima style scene. Some interior scenes
replicate this such as in a house, a guild or an inn. Scrolling
is a joy throughout. Entering a town or a cellar etc. brings up a
scene that's a cross between SSI and Dungeon Master. Until a
compass or the Staff of Direction is obtained the only way to
tell which is north or south is to use the auto-mapping facility.
In cellars and underground locations the auto-mapping will not
work unless a torch is activated. Leaving a town, cave or tower
brings an overhead view reminiscent of Faery Tale. The game map
is very large and whether your party is walking, riding, sailing
or flying you will encounter dawn, day, evening and night
changes. This is reflected by the amount of map that you can see
on screen. Time can be accelerated by use of the "Zzz"
icon. The final scenario is the battle mode. The less active
amongst us will be delighted to know that this is not realtime.
Actions, such as fight or cast magic spells and movement can be
planned on a character by character basis and a single icon press
will carry out those instructions. You just sit back and drink
your coffee whilst the hapless protagonists slug it out crying
such encouragement out as "Hit him, you twit" and so
on.

Character Set-Up

Although the game starts with a
single character who becomes your alter-ego, you do need, in
time, to fill all six character slots up with a selected group.
The character stats need to be created prior to starting the game
proper. Be patient and keep the dice rolling until you are
satisfied with the figures. Subsequent promotions will enable
such attributes like strength, attack and parry prowess, read and
use magic scrolls, swimming, pick locks, find and disarm traps to
be increased.

Movement over the map

At an early stage it is advisable
to buy a horse from the stables in Twinlake. This means that you
only lay out 150 gold for your single character. Subsequent
additions to the party all clamber upon the back of this poor
creature without detriment to its performance! If you've two
characters when you buy a horse then it's 300 gold and so on.
Having a horse means that rivers can be crossed without losing
life points by not having sufficient swimming skills. You'll also
not be allowed to enter lakes or the sea. To enter woods and
forests though you must be on foot so will have to park Dobbin in
a place where you can find him (her) again. Think I'm joking?
This is a big game.

Twinlake offers rafts for sale but
two of these are to be found for free. One at the end of a jetty
on the western shore line and another in the northwest of the
map. A boat, on the other hand, you have to buy at some point. As
these cost 5000 gold it'll be a little time before you acquire
one. Whilst this sum of money can be found in Crystal, I
recommend that you use that to fund other purposes first. Boats
can be bought in Crystal or from an extremely remote island in
the northwest.

Later in the game, a "Blue
Disc" can replace the horse and best of all the ultimate
ways to travel is via your own tame eagle - Shades of Questron
(no gambling in this game though).

Finally there's a method known as
"The Windgates". These are croquet type hoops that
transport the party - from a central island to the south of
Twinlake, to locations that are close to points of interest.
Before the windgates can be used, the artefact that enables them,
must be obtained. There are two of these to be found.

Fighting & Character Promotion

As usual sending the baddies to
their version of Valhalla is the only way to gain experience.
Entering each relevant guild gives your character information as
to how many points are required to reach the next level. Each
promotion costs so have your purse available. Some classes cost
more than others. At each promotion you are invited to allocate
points to the disciplines I described above. Briefly these should
initially be:

Warriors

Attack/ Parry skills

Thief

Pick locks

Paladin

Read and use scrolls or
Attack/ Parry

Wizards

Read and use scrolls

There are also monk and ranger
classes which I did not employ but who are available in the game.

Misreading the manual I mistakenly
thought my human character could enter a multitude of classes so
when I'd acquired 30 experience points I beetled into the Warrior
Guild for my extra skill points and to receive my extra life
points. When I then tried to enter another class and was turned
away I was inconsolable. In the event, I was well pleased as I
set up my battle formation with a warrior at either side of the
first row with all four weaker characters on the back row.

The warriors cannot advance beyond
the second row of the grid. The enemy comes down the screen
towards your team which can only be hit by the front men if they
are adjacent or directly in front of your characters. Black
wizards are the guys with offensive spells. They can cast spells
on any retreating baddies in individual or group mode dependent
on the type of spell. White wizards are the clerics and grey
wizards cast defensive spells.

Healing & Defence

It's well to cast anti-magic
spells as soon as you enter battle and follow that up with armour
protection and weapon power in subsequent turns. Healing your
folks when they are poisoned, go mad, blinded, stunned or made
ill is a pain and expensive. Some of those ailments take your
character out of a battle scenario so be warned.

Herbs can be bought that offer an
"on-line" cure mode. There's a shop in the northwest of
Illien, the Elf Village that sells:

Dolden

Use to heal poisoning

Blueplant

Use to cure madness

Redplant

reverses ageing

Drelben

cures paralysis (stun)

Packets of herbs

cure sickness (disease)

Using these is much cheaper than
the temple healers.

Potions are also available that do
the same job. Again there's a shop in Illien to the south of the
herb shop and the Monk Guild which also stock a good many. I
can't replicate all the potion symbols due to the limitations of
my keyboard, but hopefully you'll recognise which is
representative of what from those below:

M

Healing 5 potion. This is the
preferred one.

N

Healing

D

cures poisoning

1X1

replaces spell points

X

replaces spell points. This is the
preferred one.

<

cures blindness

The same with an additional half a
chevron

cures disease (sickness)

P

cures paralysis (stun)

There's also one for "Treat
weapon with balsam". Go on - get the edge.

Weapons & Special Objects

As your party root and loot their
way through dusty crevices and rusty chests, they come across all
manner of goodies. Practically everything is worth taking as this
is the way to fill your purse with gold. The bad news is that you
are limited by the strength of each character as to just how much
weight each can carry. There is an on-screen statistic that will
tell you this. The shops in Illien, Twinlake, Gemstone, Crystal
and Snakesign all do reasonable second hand deals so these are
the places to bring your treasures and turn 'em into cash. The
shop in Crystal is run by an enterprising fellow who's open all
day, every day. The others have homes to go to and their opening
hours can be read outside each shop.

Frankly, apart from torches and
empty flasks you can find most of the armour and weapons as you
go. Torches are essential to progress in the sewers and cellars.
Unless they're lit, the auto-map facility will not register and
you simply can't see. Once an area has been mapped then by all
means save your stock and alternate between map and direction
arrow mode as you retreat or re-enter a previously mapped level.

The weight problem and the sheer
number of objects, potions and scrolls you find will have you
scuttling through areas more than once. For this reason it's as
well to have a manual version of the on-screen map to hand.

The fact that an object is
"special" will become apparent by virtue of its resale
price. In Twinlake and Snakesign are wise men who will identify
those items. Beware, as once identified, they won't look at that
item again, so to quote Terry Wogan "Write it down".
Each object costs 250 gold, so best to save outside the shop and
restore when you've submitted those objects you want identifying.

I won't claim this list as
exhaustive by any means, but here are some notes I made:

Armour/ Object

Attribute

Class

Metal helmet

Shield 6

Warriors & Paladines

Horn helmet

3 + Damage 2

War/ Pal/ Ranger/ Thief

Iron ring

1

All

Brooch of Gala

1

All

Hat

1

All

Armour of Geb

10 + Strength 15

Warrior/ Paladine

Chainmail

8

Warrior/ Paladine

Banded mail

10

Warrior/ Paladine

Mithral mail

12

All

Girdle of Thieves

9

Thief

Robe

2

All

Robe of Nut

5

Wizards

Robe of Nickademeus

Wizards

Necklace of Bala

2 + Damage 2

Thief/ Ranger

Silver ring

Picklock skills

Dagger

Damage 4

All

Assassins blade

18 + 10 Speed + 15 Attack

Thief

Shortsword

8

War/ Pal/ Ranger/ Thief

Morning star

14

War/ Pal/ Ranger

Firebasher

15

Warrior

Icebiter

20

War/ Pal/ Ranger

Two handed sword

20

Warrior/ Paladine

Simitar

25

All except wizards

Sickle of Returning

20

Thief/ Monk/ Wiz/ Ranger

Buckler shield

2 + Damage 2

War/ Paladine/ Ranger

Tower shield

12 + Life Points 5 + White Magic +
Reincarnation 5

Paladine/ W.Wizard

Wand of Winds

creates storm damage

All

Globe of Harachte

creates light 3 spell

All

Pipe of Levitation

levitates party

All

Orb of Magic

creates a magic sphere x 5

All

Wand of Light

guess!

One to avoid even picking up is
the "Coat of Moira" - there are two of these and they
are cursed. Not only that, but they weigh a ton, too. A
"Remove Curse" spell is the only way to loose them once
in your inventory. There are other special objects that you will
find on your travels and others that you will be rewarded with in
return for completing sub-quests for characters in the game. Once
these items are in your inventory, clicking the action icon on
them will make them fulfil a purpose. Some, like the flute you
receive for destroying an evil dragon and is subsequently used to
summon an eagle, remain as part of your luggage. Whilst others,
such as the compass and clock, are transported to a grey display
window on the right of the screen.

Character Interaction

You can only learn about your
quest(s) from "Talking" to the other characters in the
game (they all look like they're exercising on a pogo stick).
Some of these will be able to join your party if you have room.
It's possible to be ruthless and drop a character, pick up
another one, filch all their goodies, then go back and have the
other guy join up again. Once a character has been dropped they
can be found again in the place that you first met them.

Only those characters who speak
the same language as the individual you're trying to converse
with will get any sense out of them. Otherwise you receive a
negative message so be sure your leading character is the
appropriate one. From memory I believe the only words present in
your on-screen vocabulary at the start are "Hello" and
"Key". Either keep a pencil and paper record of these
words or develop a good memory as key words are added to this
list each time you talk. For example talking to the little girl
outside your parents home in Twinlake brings out keywords such as
"Felix" (her cat) and so on. For this reason and the
fact that some dialogue responses contain keywords required later
in the game, it is important to take a note of all conversations.
Not verbatim but certainly noting keywords and names. The same is
true for pictures on the wall of some rooms.

Saved Game, Life & Death

The bad news about Amberstar is
that there is only one saved game. Yes, just the one.
Mistakes you don't make in this game. It's true to say that you
can die once and then be resurrected. Should this fate befall the
party, your dead bodies are transported to a helpful wizard, name
of Shandra, who lives in Twinlake. He then tells you that's your
lot or that he can only help once more. The trick is to retreat
when the odds are against you and to keep at least one
character's life points up all the time. This should preferably
be a paladin or a white wizard. Keep the Rod of Resurrection
handy once you've found it.

Emerging from a battle licking
your wounds you ponder how to regain your health. Resting is the
answer, but you must have rations to consume in order to restore
spell and life points. Rations are obtainable from Twinlake -
cost 15 gold, Crystal - cost 12, Gemstone - cost 10, Snakesign -
cost 10 or Manyeye Cave Village - cost 30 gold. An alternative to
spending money on rations, but effective for life points only, is
to bathe in the healing pools found in the crypt which is located
in Twinlake Cemetery.

The two pools in Twinlake have
different uses. One restores physical attributes, the other is
for the mental side, so you not only restore all your health but
you get all your spell points back, too.

Building a party

There are a number of characters
in the game who are willing to help you solve your quest. Frankly
you'll get absolutely nowhere without them. Here is a list for
your recruitment campaign:

Character

Class

Where Found

Drobonir

Warrior

Gemstone Inn

Trasric

Black Wizard

Crystal - Jewel Inn

Grylan

Paladine

Crystal - unclassified and weak at
first

Silk

Thief

Twinlake - Dragon Inn

Satine

Grey Wizard

Tower of White Wizard Guild

Boldina

Thief

Dragon Keep - Castle of Gelinda

Melchlor

Monk

Snakesign Village

Crag

White Wizard

Tower of White Wizard Guild

Sheba

Ranger

Cave of Manyeye Village - in her house

Spike the Dog

Animal

Twinlake - in the kitchen of your home

Shir'kar the Cat

Mera's House

garden

You certainly need black wizard
skills. A thief is essential. Characters with grey & white
wizard ability are also vital. I'd suggest that the warrior is
your number one recruit. Build your initial experience points by
walking over or sailing under bridges. Make sure the warrior and
black wizard are with you. This way you fight single bridge
trolls on a random basis. Fighting the first rats in Twinlake
Sewers is also good preparation for your characters' first
promotions. It's important to get life points under your belt to
eliminate the frustration of early deaths.

General Hints

It took me ages to realise
that, although I could click the mouse button on clothes
and weapons to take them from the inventory and place
them on the figure, in order to action say, a torch, I
had first to click on the hand icon in the lower right of
the monitor screen and then on the inventory item I
wanted to action.

The game isn't exactly
linear but it is true to say that some places
are easier than others. My explanatory is in the order in
which I tackled the game which isn't necessarily the
easiest path, but I do know and will advise which areas
were hard.

There were two scenarios
where doors closed behind the party irrevocably. This is
no fun when there's only one saved game and it's midnight
and you know that it'll take ages and three days to get
out in one piece. Not only that but you don't know if
you've enough life points and equipment to stay the
course! The two places are - Pharaoh's Tomb and the cave
under the whirlpool. This latter area should be left till
last as it's quite (British understatement) tough.

You will need to leave
areas from time to time in order to unload your
inventory. Keeping a note of your characters' experience
points will enable you to see just when they can gain
those vital additional life points and spell casting
& learning points. All this takes time. Until you
acquire the map locator in the swamp station to
facilitate this activity, it's a task that you have to
live with.

When learning scrolls it's
best to save the game first, as a degree of "SSI
type" dice rolling takes place. One time you fail
and the next it's OK. Watch the words as the scroll turns
to dust whether successful or not. For this reason save
between scrolls as well.

Read signs and sign posts
as these will give you trigger words in your speech
inventory.

Walkthrough

Twinlake

Map reference
(x axis first, then y)

210/215

Town area can be mapped on
a 32 (horizontal) x 28 (vertical) grid.

Your start point is in Twinlake
Graveyard standing close to the grave of your parents. Use the
"Eye" icon to look around and head northeast to find
the crypt. Use the "Zzz" icon to advance time and stop
when Gwendoline appears. Read the notice outside the crypt first
and make a point of reading this and the signs outside shops and
guilds as you come across them. They give you keywords also and
thus facilitate conversation. Hang around till midday to meet
Gwendoline. She's pretty distraught. Say "Hello" and
watch the keywords for further conversation. She requests that
you obtain the Flower (Rose) of Sadness which is to be found in
the Halls of Peace. She doesn't know where this is but if you
talk to Olfin, who's to be found in the Jewel Inn in Crystal,
he'll be only too pleased to tell you that this is a cave
entrance located northeast of Crystal in a rocky but desert area.

Staying in the crypt note the two
healing pools and advance time to midnight in order to meet Sir
Marrilion, Gwendoline's better half. Speak to him of Gwendoline
to obtain the key to the tomb. In here find a sword, armour and
589 gold. Both sword and armour can only be used by a paladin, so
it's best just to take the cash for now and return later for the
other stuff. There's a little guy in Crystal who's dying to get
his hands on these things. More of him later.

Leave the crypt and head for the
cemetery exit in the southwest. The only other thing of interest
here is a statue in the southeast of the graveyard. Entering the
town brings up a different perspective and enables the
auto-mapping facility. Click on the icon to see where you've been
- a super assistance to manual mapping.

The first place to head for is
your parents' home. This is located down a passageway which is
off the lane opposite the shop and past the food shop. You will
meet Sunni, a small girl, in this area. Say "Hello"
etc. to learn that she has lost her pet cat Felix. Whilst she
makes reference to the cemetery, the poor feline is actually held
prisoner in the sewers. The reward when you return Felix is that
the lead character in your party at the time learns the gift of
talking to animals. She also offers to sell you hats at a price
of 3 gold. But before you enter the sewers, you have lots to do
first. Use the key on the lock of your parents' home. Enter. In
the dining room find a magic picture in an alcove to the right
behind the table, use the "Eye" icon. Actioning this,
transfers the picture to the large grey area in the mid-right of
the screen and enables you to see if it's night or day. In the
kitchen you meet Spike the Dog. When you have the gift of talking
to animals, he can join your party. He's great at rat eating but
I never found anything that enabled animals to be promoted, so
his life points always stayed at 40. Better really to develop
another class of character but useful in a battle until you fill
up all six slots. At the end of the long corridor in the
northeast find a chest with a small key and an old robe. Use the
key in the bedroom to the east and find a wardrobe stuffed with
487 gold, armour, weapons, a potion and boots.

Leave the house and head south to
find the Dancing Dragon Inn. Talk to everyone in here. One guy is
an old friend and refers you to Jonathan's House (note the
spelling) which is located to the nor' nor' east of Twinlake -
tucked just in the trees. The key to the house is in a bush at
the side of the path to the house before you enter the trees.
Jonathan's House is an entire separate area and should not be
entered until you have found the crowbar which is to be found in
a barrel. The barrel is located near the top of the steps which
lead down into the cellar. Again the cellar is a completely
separate area which, in time and the right key, links up with
Jonathan's House. More of that later. In the kitchen meet the
cook and say "Quest". He wants you to find his ring.
Recovering it from the sewers means that he gives you a crystal
ball in exchange. This should be actioned when your party is
trekking through the woods and you're hopelessly lost. It
provides an aerial view of the surrounding countryside, just
enough to get your bearings. It does have a limited usage so I'd
suggest saving the game prior to use then restoring and heading
off in the right direction. In the area to the north of the
dining room meet Breth, who's mine host. In the cellar you'll
find an old wine bottle for which he'll pay you 100 gold.
Accompanying him will be Silk. He's a thief and well worth
recruiting. He's carrying three lockpicks for a start. Only use
these if he fails to open chests or locks by hand. Ensure that
you develop his lockpick skills up to 95% before any other skill,
then concentrate on Search. Also in the inn is Cyrlis the Cat.
When you've acquired the gift of speaking to animals, she'll tell
you where to find the hidden door to the Thieves' Guild. It's
really not worthwhile staying in an inn as it only costs money
and you can rest just as effectively outside the city or in your
parents' home.

Time now to visit Shandra. His
house is located in the east of the town, just past the entrance
to the Lord Chancellor's quarters. Shandra's appearance is time
related so hang around in his bedroom till he shows, if he's not
elsewhere in his house. Say "Hello" to obtain the key
to his laboratory. In the chest in here are lots of goodies. Just
note them for now as you won't have room to store them all and it
would be tragic to have to sell the potions and scrolls just to
make room in your inventory. Come back when your party is larger
and you have the appropriate wizards. Shandra tells you of a
female wizard waiting in the Grey Wizard Tower. This tower is
located on an island off the northeast shoreline and can be
reached by either raft or boat. If swimming skills are good, I
guess you could goose grease yourself and strike out that way.
The map picture on the wall in Shandra's house serves no purpose
so ditch it if you've picked it up. If you say "Potion"
to Shandra and give him an empty flask, he'll mix you a healing 5
potion, very useful in the early stages when you're trying to
build experience stats.

In order to start acquiring those
vital points, head south from Shandra to visit Karwain, the Lord
Chancellor. Say "Hello: Quest: Sewers: Key" to obtain
the key to the sewers. You'll have passed this door en-route from
the cemetery. The shops in Twinlake sell rations and arms. In the
armoury shop, there is also an item called a
"Bernstein". This is a translation error from the
original German as in English it means "Amber", which
you need when you enter the swamp station area.

In summery we've now identified
the following sub-plots/ quests:

The Sewers

Dragon Inn Cellar

Jonathan's House

Halls of Peace

Tower of Grey Wizards

I've listed the above in terms of
difficulty.

Presuming that you're still alone,
now is the time to recruit some assistance. A warrior and a black
wizard are necessary for sure, so I recommend that Gemstone and
Crystal are visited, in that order, before coming back to
Twinlake. As stated earlier, this is a big map so it'll take a
couple of game days to find Gemstone.

Gemstone

Map reference

129/369

Map on a 19 x 19 grid.

Entrance door is in the south.

Located in the southwest, tucked
between two mountain ranges. Not a great deal to find here. There
are a couple of specialist shops. One, in the east, sells tools
and for sure you need a pickaxe. The crowbar you should already
have from the Dragon Inn in Twinlake. Northwest of the town is a
jewel shop. It can be useful to convert your excess gold into
gems. Obviously the shopkeeper takes his cut when these
transactions occur. Drobonir, the warrior, is waiting in the inn.
The counter clerk, Andamael, is useless for now but does come
into play later in the game. Take Drobonir and together head
northeast to Crystal.

Crystal

Map reference

235/120

Map on a 28 x 28 grid.

The entrance gate is in the south.

Located in a bay on the mid east
of the island. A much more interesting place than Gemstone,
there's a fair bit to do in Crystal. Take the right fork as you
enter and find the entrance to the Jewel Tavern. Standing in the
entrance hall is Captain Brix. He's looking for Orlando, the
landlord who's hovering outside the wine cellar which is to be
found south of the kitchen area. Inside you meet two potential
recruits. Grylan is hanging around one of the corridors. He is a
wannabe paladin. Make his day by taking him on but beware that
initially he's as weak as you are. Like your character he needs
experience points. Of far more use is Trasric, the black wizard,
he's to be found through a couple of bedrooms near where Grylan
is. He tells you where his guild is which is only accessible by
boat. More of the Tower of Black Wizards later. In one of the
rooms you meet Thonion. As you admire the pictures on his wall,
he tells you of the white gates and how one is able to teleport
around the island provided one has the appropriate artefact. The
necklace, for that is the artefact, is to be found in the Temple
of Sansri. However the temple is on the small island off the
south coast and is only accessible in two ways. Firstly by air,
you need to have access to the eagle. Secondly by fulfilling the
quest set by Gwendoline whereby the Rose of Peace is returned to
her in Twinlake Crypt. In return she gives you a teleport spell
that takes you right into the heart of Sansri's Temple. Be warned
that it's tough getting out again though. Another option is to
sell the rose to Olfin who tells you about "the
Flower". He'll pay you around 5500 gold for it which is just
about the right amount to buy a boat.

There's an old man looking for
Kevin, the bard. Kevin's drowning his sorrows in a bar in Illien,
the Elven Village, and he can wait for now.

In the garden find a pond. Making
sure that you don't lose life points by staying in the water too
long, hop over to the tree to find 5000 gold and a parchment.
This, I think, refers to The Sphere of Opening, which is hidden
in a plant pot in the room with many plants. Go south and east in
this room to find the sphere. It is this that will open the
circle of rocks guarding the Black Wizard Tower.

In the kitchen meet Erek the cook
and the landlady who directs you outside to meet Orlando. He's a
bit busy right now but will help you once you present him with a
golden wine goblet. The goblet is hidden in his cellar. In return
he presents you with an old key which will open up the keyhole in
the wall which is en-route to the Paladin Guild in Crystal.
Before you go charging off into the cellar, your party needs to
obtain a few promotions first, so keep exploring the rest of
Crystal for now.

Leaving the Tavern head north and
east to find a shop. In the shop is an old woman and the
shopkeeper behind the counter. The woman warns of the dire
consequences of visiting Dreblin, the Lord Chancellor. Don't be
tempted, as I was, to waste your precious lockpicks on either the
door to his room or the chest in the room. In the chest is a
sarky message that says the equivalent of "Yah, Boo,
Sucks". This shop is open all day every day and you and the
sarky shopkeeper will do good business together.

Head east to find the market area
and the ration shop in the lower east - a place you will visit
frequently as it's easier to find Crystal then Gemstone and the
price difference is only 2 gold. Meet Firlas down a passage in
the northeast of the market. The poor fellow has lost his Bone of
Wisdom in Twinlake. Your reward for safely returning it is a
runic message and more importantly a piece of Amberstar. But first you
must complete Twinlake Sewers, return Felix the Cat to Sunni, who
gives you the gift of talking to animals and then recruit Spike
the Dog from your parents' kitchen.

A healing temple is around here
and right in the north is the boatyard where you can spend the
5000 gold you've just acquired. My recommendation is that you
save this money for rations and suitable armour and weaponry. The
Black Wizard Tower is by far too tough a place for the party
right now.

Moving west you'll see the Lord
Chancellor's House in the southwest. By all means walk in and
have a look round. Talk to his wife, crying in the kitchen, and
his son, cowering in the bedroom. You won't be able to enter the
cellar area yet as the seal on Dreblin's signet ring is required
as a pass key. The ring is deep within Jonathan's House. Make a
note of the four portraits on the wall in the entrance hall. You
need this information later on inside Dreblin's cellar area.
Upstairs is dangerous as monsters are lurking in a room there.
Use the Retreat option to escape or at least save before
taking them on. When you "eye" the globe up here, the
message is "Mortals, look deep into my eyes and see the pain
my prince is preparing for you. No-one can stop the plans of
prince Bralkur. He will suck your soul from your body the way you
suck an egg." Fighting talk indeed. The teleport in the
bedroom takes you downstairs to just outside the cellar.

To the north on the western side
you'll eventually find the Paladins' Guild. In here you can buy
white magic scrolls. A thorough exploration of the paladin area
will have revealed a keyhole in the wall. The key for this is
obtainable from Orlando once you've given him the golden wine
goblet from his cellar. In the chest that is then revealed, find
657 gold and another piece
of Amberstar.

So after exploring Crystal so far,
there are a few more sub-quests:

Twinlake Sewers

Jewel Tavern Wine Cellar

Halls of Peace (to find
rose)

Jonathan's House

Black Wizard Tower

Dreblin's Cellar

This is a tough area and
should only be tackled after a few class promotions. The
cellar is an area that does not auto-map. It contains
lots of monsters which need clearing before you find
Dreblin. Mummies and skeletons are occupying the crypt
where you will find a key with which to release the
imprisoned Dreblin. The strategy for the cellar should be
to take one monster on at a time and then nip upstairs to
recover, save, and clear the next one and so on. In one
section you'll come across three graves, one of these
conceals two blue mushrooms. These aren't for eating,
they enhance your attributes when administered to you by
Mera the Witch. Keep the mushrooms in your inventory
until you find her house which is to the west. Find the
jetty on the western shore and go southeast to discover
her house and hand her the mushrooms. Red ones enhance
your speed and blue your strength.

Having noted the portraits
in Dreblin's entrance hall is necessary to complete the
cellar. In the final section puzzlemouths will ask you
who is

The Rooster

Calwell

The Pirate

Maltor

Mourner

Fenora

Blue Pearl

Leonore

You will go
through several doors till the party comes across a large
water tank. Defeating the demon gives you a cage key with
which to release Dreblin from his prison. Wait for the
wooden bridge to fall into place before entering. Talk to
him to receive a reward for rescuing him.

In his chest are loads of
useful things:

a
clock that you can "action" which will
then show the time in the large grey window on
your monitor screen

a
Girdle of Thieves which considerably aids the
picklock ability of your thief

1584
gold

an
iron ring that gives shield assistance

two
swords that'll help attack skills

and of
course a piece
of Amberstar.

Temple of Sansri

My suggestion now is that you
either head west and explore Illien or return to Twinlake and,
with your new recruits, explore the sewers. To build up some
points before going down the sewers, try crossing bridges to
fight the trolls that then appear. Should you head on the paths
north of Crystal, you will find the orcs too tough for an embryo
party.

Twinlake
Sewers

Map on a 14 x 14 grid.

Located in the northwest area of
the town.

Prior to climbing down the ladder
search to find 3 torches under some rubbish by the barrels.
Ensure that you have a few torches in your inventory. The
auto-map will show where you've been if your light goes out but
won't record any fresh territory. The first brush with rats is
just along the initial passage. Choose the attack icon to ensure
that your party gets the first hits in, otherwise the baddies
bash you instead. Explore every nook and cranny. Select a lead
character who has good search stats, otherwise you may miss
something.

In the southeast find a dead body,
goodies here include 3 precious lockpicks. In the centre west
find the cook's old ring. Returning it in exchange for the
crystal ball. In the very centre is a major battle. Defeat the
rat king to rescue Felix the Cat and pick up the rat king's head.
Hand the head to Lord Karwain to receive 600 gold reward and hear
about Firlas. Searching the east side of the lair after the fight
you discover the soldiers who failed in their mission.

Return Felix back to Sunni to
receive the gift of talking to animals. You can now nip home and
recruit Spike the Dog. Guess who's got Firlas's bone buried in
the garden! Yup. Next time you're through Crystal, drop in on
Firlas to return the bone and receive a piece of Amberstar
as a reward. The runes on the scroll read "Oh Talmit,
goddess of the future! Let me look deep into your eyes. - Find 13
parts. Go to the clearing where many rivers wind. Altar in Forest
of Unity - Thank you, Talmit, for letting me see". After, or
indeed during, completion of the sewers sell your excess
inventory. Keep the good stuff, buy some more rations, tour the
appropriate guilds for promotion and head to the next location.
Practically wherever you go now (in an area), you'll need either
light spells or torches, so stay well equipped.

The next three areas are all much
of a muchness in terms of difficulty. It may be better to go to
the cellar areas before taking on the orcs in Jonathan's House,
so you can build up life points etc..

Jonathan
Burgand's House

Map reference

232/196

Map first level on a 13 x 13 grid.

Map second level on a 23 x 23
grid.

Map third level A on a 8 x 13
grid.

Map third level B on a ...........
this level is long, long, very long.
It actually connects up with the Dragon Inn
Cellar level two. Up to the point that these
meet, it can be mapped on an 8 x 80 grid.

Located to the northeast of
Twinlake. The key referred to in the Dragon Inn is hidden in a
bush. The bush is just off a corner of the path before entering
the trees to enter the house proper. Don't go near the house if
you haven't already found or bought a crowbar. You can buy one in
Gemstone or find one near the entrance to the cellar (in a
barrel) in the Dragon Inn. As you approach the house, the party
falls into the southeast area of the cellar (within level 2). Use
the crowbar on the door to explore the cellar. In the northeast
find 26 gold and some torches. In the southwest are clothes to be
found. The exit stairs up to level 1 are in the west. Entry to
level 1 is in the southeast corner. Four orc battles to go
through in this level. The good news is that the door to the
outside world is in the centre south and you can come and go at
will. You'll need to do this to offload your excess baggage and
to buy rations so you can recover spell and life points. Don't
forget to use the crypt pools in Twinlake Cemetery as you're so
close. These only replace life and not spell points though. You
need orc communication skills to pass the time of day with the
guy in the northern room. As I didn't have that we'll carry on! A
door in the northwest has a trap that could blind your leader so
if the screen goes black, the game's not crashed, it's just that
you can't see. I had to wait a long time to develop sufficient
picklock skills to enter here, but try your luck with the thief
anyway. The chest beyond has loads of scrolls, 325 gold, a good
sword, good helmet and other useful treasures. The stairs down to
the rest of level 2 are located in the northeast. Entry point is
north just right of centre. Search to flush out more orcs. Round
a winding passage to find a door to your left. Break this down
with a crowbar but don't enter the teleport in the south just
yet. The reason why is that you teleport to a "Lost
Island".

The
Lost Island

The only way back from here is via
another teleport that is concealed behind a locked door. This
door is resistant to lockpicks and can only be opened by means of
a key obtainable from the Castle of Gelinda on the Dragon Island.
The bad news is that the dragon is sitting on the wretched thing.

On the Lost Island is the body of
Olgur, the missing orc; there are a few bits to pick up before
entering the house. In the house the southeastern room contains a
chest with 1248 gold, 5 potions and 2 scrolls and a vital piece of Amberstar.
Then use the key on the western room to access the teleport back.
I guess that having a teleport scroll could be an alternative
option? Go right and north instead to find a door south halfway
along this corridor. There are then three doors off each side of
this long passage south. The first door west, the second door
east and both third doors, west and east, conceal orcs so expect
trouble. Just keep popping out as before to recharge your
attributes. Through the door south there is another orc battle.
Going left or right in the corridor beyond takes the party to two
different areas. The eastern stairs lead to the long, long, long
passage that eventually links up to the Dragon Inn (Area B)
whilst the western stairs lead to Jonathan's Laboratory (Area A).

Let's go to the smaller section
first, down the stairs to see a puzzlemouth. Naturally the answer
is "Jonathan". Watch the spelling. The passage then
opens up the rest of the area. Beware of three spinners in the
room beyond. Use the auto-map feature to see in which direction
you are headed. There is a door in the southeast of this room
that leads to a room with teleports. Your objective is to reach
the door in the southwest of this area. Behind the door is the
laboratory.

Teleport System

Door

1

2

3

4

5

6

Pillar

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Lab Door

17

18

7

teleports to

2

3

teleports to

9

1

teleports to

2

6

teleports to

13

12

teleports to

4

16

teleports to

11

10

teleports to

5

14

teleports to

15

18

teleports to

17

8

teleports to

4

Look in the barrels to find a
parchment. There are more diary entries on the tables. The signet
ring that'll allow entry to Dreblin's cellar in Crystal is here.
In the chest are a few treasures including a tunnel key that is
the means of opening up the passage from Area B to the Dragon
Inn. If your thief isn't up to opening the chest, then you'll
have to return when his skills are improved.

The diary entries are significant
as they lead you to other areas. The blue disc device is a
travelling bubble that enables the party to move over land or
shallow seas. It is located in Pharaoh's Tomb. The entrance to
the tomb is in the southeast of the island near rocks in a desert
area. The locator device gives you grid map references and is
very useful for finding your way around. The device is deep
within the swamp station. The reference to "Water" in
the diary entry is the means by which you flush out the blockage
in the sewerage system. More of that later. The swamp station is
located in the southwest.

Now return and head down the other
set of stairs to enter the long, long...you know, the
rest...passage. This heads north. Fight rats about a third of the
way up. Beyond the point where the passage takes a left is a door
that leads south. Take this route before heading north. The
passage winds its way right down to a square room with a chest.
On the way meet two sets of rats before encountering another set
in the room itself. The chest is booby trapped so have someone
qualified disarm the thing. Inside are goodies and black wizard
scrolls. Somewhere in this area is more treasure in another
chest. My records have a note of what you find but not where. In
this chest is a compass which you should "Action".
Direction notes then appear in the grey window on the right of
your screen. Haul the party back to head north. Firstly on the
east side to find and fight rats through the second door east.
Then north up the western side. Keep west through a door to fight
more rats and discover a chest with scrolls and other treasures.
The silver ring will give the thief additional lockpick skills.
Advancing up the other passage brings you to a keyhole in the
wall. Use the tunnel key here to enter the Dragon Inn - level
two. Keep north and east to find an empty flask, healing scrolls
and other treasure. You can continue, if you wish, through the
cellars to exit eventually in the Dragon Inn but I'll do that
section as if you've entered from the inn.

New quests discovered:

Swamp station

Pharaoh's Tomb

Dragon
Inn Cellars

Map level one on an 18 x 23 grid.

Map level two on an 8 x 8 grid
(before it connects with Jonathan's Cellar).

Dragon Inn located in Twinlake.

The entry point is in the
mid-north. Turning right follow the passage north to find a
flask. Then south to a room where there are doors to the west and
east. Explore the eastern door first. Initially heading south
then north to find another flask and then south to use a crowbar
on a door south. The door west leads to a battle with rats, then
west again to go north to fight a wine slime. After disposing of
this green mucus you find a few goodies. Head to the small room
beyond to pick up an old flask of wine that Breth, the innkeeper,
will pay 100 gold for. Return to the room where the door led west
and use crowbar again. Then north before heading south through a
south door to fight more rats. East of this point find another
flask down a passage. Then south again through a door to fight
rats. Go east down a long passage to enter a false wall and
descend stairs to level two. At the end of level two, which is
pretty small, find the keyhole in the wall that needs the tunnel
key from Jonathan's laboratory to open up the route into his
cellars.

Jewel
Inn Cellars

Map level one on a 23 x 23 grid.

Map level two on another long,
long grid: 88 x 5.

The Jewel Inn is to be found in
Crystal.

Entry point is the northwest
corner heading east. After passing through the first door find a
door to the south heading east. This is the way to go. There is
another door south round the corner but there's nothing and
no-one in the rooms beyond. Through the door east head either
north or south. The doors south along the northern passage lead
to another barren area. Go to the southern passage and use your
crowbar on the wall south (about 5 squares in from the eastern
corner). You'll pass two drunken goblins before fighting goblins
through a door south. Find a door west and then travel south and
west to fight more goblins at the end of a passage.

Back to go north and west through
a door, round a couple of corners and another goblin battle.
South and head west to bash another set of goblins. Go north from
here round yet more bends, keep west and south to finally
discover a chest containing flasks and a golden wine goblet. Give
this goblet to Orlando who'll reward you with the old key. This
key then fits the keyhole in the wall in the area south of the
Paladins' Guild in Crystal. The wall opens up and leads to a
chest containing 657 gold and a vital piece of Amberstar.

The stairs down to level two are
nearby, go west and south. Down a passage with three doors off.
Behind each door are goblins to be fought. Again the door east
conceals goblins. Explore and keep heading east. One of the small
rooms has a chest. In the chest is a message and 1296 gold. The
parchment reads "I would remind you again that you must be
more careful! We don't want that old fool Orlando to notice that
we are selling him his own wine!" signed Captain B. Much to
my disappointment showing this to Orlando or Captain Brix
produced no response. You will fight another five sets of goblins
before emerging on an island. Beware for there are more goblins
on the jetty and in the surrounding landscape.

Time now to tackle the Wizard
Towers. Each of the towers has a fast track route to the guild
contained within. It's tempting to enter the password straight
off but in doing so you won't gain the experience that
builds your party's statistics. The puzzlemouths ask for the name
of the guild's founder and of course this is the last puzzle you
solve. I'll provide the solution but only at the point that the
puzzle appears. In terms of easiest first:

White
Wizard Tower

Map reference

280/168

Map on a 23 x 23 grid.

Located southeast of Crystal.

Entry point is in the mid east
heading west. The puzzlemouth is located in front of you. Head
north and then south to enter a room with loads of teleports.

Teleport System

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

All but 5, 7 & 10 take you back into the
passage north.

5 takes you back to the entrance.

The correct teleport takes you
north. Head round a bend or three to find stairs leading to a
small passage. There are three of these. Beware the spinner in
the third one. Going south you enter a large room. Walking only
on the bones make your way to the door in the southeast corner.
Through the door and go west ignoring the teleport to the east.
Half way along the passage is a false wall to the south. You may
have to trigger this by visiting the statue at the end of the
passage which has the message "There is no way past
me". Twice through the false wall. Going west at the end of
the passage south leads to a barrel containing eight torches.
Head east through a couple of doors to find and fight skeletons.
The lower ones in the three rooms are an illusion. Round and
round the passages to find the statue of the founder whose name
is "Kasimir". Back and north to find the guild entrance
and meet Crag, a level six white wizard, inside. Crag has a
useful staff should you choose to recruit him. Head east from the
guild to use the password on the puzzlemouth.

Tower
of Grey Wizards

Map reference

090/138

Map on a 28 x 28 grid.

Located on an island off the
northeast coast.

Entry point is in the mid south.
At the intersection to the north the puzzlemouth is to the north.
Go west through two doors and north through the second door to
find two flasks at the end of the passage. Head south to find two
mushrooms in one alcove and three flasks in another. Shandra, the
wizard in Twinlake, will place healing 5 potions in your flasks
if you say "Potions" to him and Mera will convert the
mushrooms to strength or speed enhancements. Go north but beware
the spinner in the narrow section. There are three more mushrooms
to be found in a corner to the northwest. Travelling east then
north you discover a passage with five teleports. Each one takes
you to an independent area in the northern area of your map.

Taking the most western teleport
first, will take you to the mid north. From your arrival point go
north and through a door east to fight orcs. Return to the
teleport which takes you back to the intersection below the
puzzlemouth. Unfortunately this happens each time so you have to
traipse all the way back through the dreaded spinner to the
teleport passage. Next teleport in from the west takes you east
of the area you've just been to. Follow the passage round to meet
orcs and goblins through the door and enter the teleport in the
north. The centre teleport lands you in an area to the extreme
northwest of the map. Go north to obtain some valuable treasures.
In the chest are wands of light and fireballs; there is also a
staff of direction and most vital of all a staff of resurrection.
Return then to the teleport. The teleport second in from the east
goes to the extreme northeast of the map. Fight orcs in the east
and teleport back from the opposite corner. The final eastern
teleport takes you into the remaining northern slot where you
dispose of more orcs before teleporting back to the intersection.

From the intersection now go east.
Travel round the walls to avoid a spinner in the next two rooms
east. The doors north and south in the first room lead to empty
areas but head north in the second room. Go west and north to
encounter mummies. North again then west to find a door west.
Search the passage south before going through the door to
discover 359 gold and a torch. Through the door search the
barrels in the centre of the room to find useful herbs and four
torches. The herbs will cure sickness etc. that the mummies cast
on you. See the introductory notes in an earlier part of this
playguide to see which herb cures what.

Along the passage west to have a
tough battle with more mummies. The staff of resurrection will
probably come into its own now. Follow the passage round and
round till you arrive at a locked door. Use the thief to pick the
lock and find the guild entrance in the southern passage. Inside
the guild, the party meets Satine, a level six grey wizard, who
will be a great asset to your party. To the north of the guild
find the statue of the founder "Landonis" at the end of
a short passage. Back to the southern passage and enter the
password in the puzzlemouth.

Black
Wizard Tower

Map reference

266/306

Map entrance level on a 33 x 33
grid.

Map level one on a 23 x 23 grid.

Map level two on a 13 x 13 grid.

Located at the end of a rocky
section that can only be accessed by sea or air.
To gain entrance to the tower, you must first
have obtained the Sphere of Opening from the
plant room in the Jewel Inn in Crystal. Use this
on the altar and the circle of rocks will open.

Entry point is in the mid south.
The passage turns east at the puzzlemouth and stairs lead to the
next level. From the stairs head southeast to find a pit halfway
down a corridor. If you have a rope now is the time to use it,
otherwise just drop down and take the hit points. The next few
battles are tough. I suggest that you save before
dropping down, just in case the party is still too weak to take
on the three sets of skeletons that guard this room. Head east
when the skeletons are done with and find a door north. There are
more skeletons through the door and beyond them find 238 gold and
three torches. Exit the room and head south to a room with loads
of false walls. Cross the room to exit into a corridor in the
northwest corner of this room.

E

W

E

E

W

E

W

E

X

E

X

E

X

E

Door

X

E

X

E

W

E

W

E

W

E

W

E

Empty Space

E

W

E

X

E

W

E

X

E

X

E

W

Wall

E

W

W

E

X

E

X

E

W

E

W

X

False Wall

T

W

E

X

E

W

E

W

E

X

E

T

Teleport

The teleport sends the party west
into a corridor where skeletons are waiting for you. There's
another set round the corner to the north. Follow the passage
east and explore north before entering the door east. Find a bit
of gold and three scrolls in the alcove. Through the door and
into an area with 14, yes fourteen teleports. Thirteen you can
see and one you can't. Naturally it's the one you can't see that
is the correct one. All the others send you back to rooms earlier
in the level so you have the pain of finding your way back again.
The real teleport is accessed from the north of the central
pillar. Enter the false wall to be sent into an alcove. From the
alcove find skeletons waiting to the north. Zap them and enter
the door north and fight another set of skeletons. The rooms
beyond have doors galore. Not only that but there are three
spinners along the central corridor. More skeletons lurk in the
room to the extreme west. Make your way east to exit this area to
the north. You now follow passages in an anti-clockwise route. At
the extreme northwest is a door behind which is 198 gold and a
good helmet. Go south to find more skeletons with another lot
much further on. Finally enter a door to find a teleport which
takes you to the bottom of a long corridor north. Up the corridor
to enter a door to the south and teleport again into a small room
in the east of the map. Through the door and round to fight
skeletons in the south. Enter another room to teleport again to
the east. South through the door and head north fighting
skeletons as you enter another room in the northeast and teleport
again. Head south from the next room and head west to dispose of
yet more skeletons. Just look at your experience statistics now!
Retrace steps and go north then east at the crossroads and yes,
teleport again. From the room in the northern area go south to
teleport for the last time on this level. South through the door
and fight skeletons en-route to the stairs which lead to level
one. Your entry point is just mid east in the centre of the map.
Go north meeting skeletons just before a door north. Up and round
and fight two more sets of skeletons in the northern passage.
Head south peek into the room east to find three robes. Continue
south through the door and wend a torturous route to the south
west corner of the map to enter a door north. Bash the skeletons
within and find two lockpicks, a dagger and 99 gold east of here.
North and east to discover stairs up to level two. Entry point is
in the mid south. Go north and fight skeletons in the western
passage. Again in the north corridor before entering a door
south. Just west through the door are two flasks and a smidgen of
gold. South round the houses to find the statue of the founder in
a southern alcove, "Nicademus".

The guild entrance is to the left
and stairs down on the right through level one and down again to
the puzzlemouth on the entrance level. Enter the password and out
into the light of day. In the guild look in the barrels to find
dried herbs and three blue mushrooms. Time to make use of those
mushrooms by exploring Mera's garden shed.

Mera's
House (Sprite Caves)

Map reference

140/265

Map on a 33 x 48 grid.

Located southeast of the jetty on
the west side of the island.

After you've talked to Mera and
benefited from her magic mushrooms, talk to her to discover that
she's lost her broom. Enter the garden to say "Mera" to
the puzzlemouth. If you don't have a full complement of heads,
you can recruit the cat. Talk to the cat anyway to learn of the
frog pond. Go down the ladder to enter the caves in the southwest
corner. Two steps in, you teleport to the east. Enter the false
wall south and the wheel on the wall opens the northern end of
the passage you just teleported from. Regain this passage by
moving east through a false wall and head north then east to
enter a door west. Enter the teleport to be transported into the
centre east of the map.

Ignore the teleport to the north
here as this sends you back outside the caves. Instead head
northeast to find the labyrinth key. Now thread your way to the
southwest of this area to find a keyhole in the wall where you
use the labyrinth key. This opens up the route to the south and
east. Just before the door east is a passage with a wheel at the
end. Ignore this for the moment. The wheel opens up a passage
behind you to the west. Go east and thoroughly explore the area
to the east. You'll find five sets of gems. You'll receive around
550 gold for each gem from the shopkeepers. After picking all the
gems up go south and west to find three more sets of gems and a
puzzlemouth in the southwest corner. This puzzle took me ages,
the answer is "Sprite". The passage to the west opens
up and at the end is the missing broom. Back to the small passage
with the wheel. Once activated go west and down a passage west.
Watch for the spinner halfway down. Enter a door north. Thread
your way through a series of false walls and impassable passages
to enter a door to the east in the northeast section of this
maze. Ignore the teleport to the southeast as it takes you back
outside to caves. In the passage west there are some rocks. These
are an illusion. You must now cast an anti-magic spell to avoid
being teleported out the caves should you step beyond the rocks.
Explore the rooms to the north to find four chests containing
jewels and gems. Once through the room with many pillars you head
south and east to go up to the northeast where the sprites
concede defeat. Now return to one of the exit teleports to return
the broom to Mera. She tells you of the frog pond.

The
Frog Pond

This is located to the southeast
of Mera's House. Enter the trees and the pond area is enlarged.
Talk to each frog until one answers and tells you his sorry tale.
Swim to the island in the centre and underneath the rock is a piece of Amberstar.

Halls
of Peace

Map reference

315/076

Map on a 9 x 18 grid, but there
are five non-automap areas off.

Warning - you are advised to have
decent swimming stats before entering.

Located in the rocks at the end of
the desert northeast of Crystal. Entry point is in the mid south.
Meet the puzzlemouth and say "Jasmin". This name
derived from talking to Olfin in the Jewel Inn in Crystal.
Forward to meet a planthulk to the east and another in the room
south of here. Going through the door north and heading west will
bring another planthulk battle. North and east via area C meet
the final planthulk monster. Taking the five outer areas in the
following sequence: EDCAB

Area A

Fight krakens on the shore line, hang
about and tempt them onto the beach, or in the shallows
if your swimming abilities are up to it. When they're all
killed, head to the opposite shore line and take the lily
from the altar.

Area B

Same tactics as in area A with the
krakens. The target shoreline is to the west. Then north
to discover the forget-me-not flower on the altar.

Area C

This links rooms together. You'll now
meet trents which are tree monsters and they're tougher
than krakens. There are a few of these to dispose of
before crossing a bridge to find another cave entrance.

Area D

More krakens. Head north to find
clover.

Area E

Krakens yet again. Then go northwest
to find the altar and a rose.

Head for the temple and use your
flowers in the following order: Cloverleaf, rose, lily and
forget-me-nots. Head north to hear the voice telling you that you
are worthy. You can now either sell the flower to Olfin for
around 5500 gold or be noble and trade it with Gwendolin for a
teleport directly into Sanri's Temple. If you're low on
experience and hit points, I'd recommend calling in on Olfin and
taking the cash.

Illien
- The Village of the Elves

Map reference

157/134

Map on a 23 x 16 grid.

Located west of Crystal in a clearing deep in the
woods.

There are entry points north, south, east and
west. Entering from the north you will immediately see statues.
The statues carry the names of the Guardians of the Eyrie. More
of the Eyrie in a moment. The names are:

Tillien

The first guardian

Gelinda

The second guardian

Solomon

The third guardian

Elathon

The fourth guardian

Pelanis

The fifth guardian

Pelanis is the current guardian and it is he you
must talk to to learn of the quest you must undertake. Successful
completion gains the gift of a magic flute that summons your own
personal flying machine - a friendly eagle. Pelanis lives in the
southeast of the town. He'll tell you the tale of the female
dragon and how it threatens the Eyrie. You must destroy the
unhatched dragon egg and slay the dragon as well. To reach the
island home of the dragon you can use a raft that is moored at a
jetty to the northwest of Illien. The dragon's pretty tough so
your party need to be in good shape before confronting it.

Elsewhere in Illien is a very useful herb shop in
the northwest and an even more useful potion shop south of here.
Wandering around this area is Samrais who'll tell you about the
dragon and Pelanis. There's a shop in the centre of the village
and a temple is in the southwest. In the southeast is a ration
shop where rations only cost 10 gold.

The pathway to the inn is from the east. Before
taking the northern route to the inn go south and talk to Bothor.
Say "Amberstar" to receive a letter to his uncle
Donner. Donner is working in a mine in the south of the island.
The entrance is directly west of the jetty which itself is west
of Gemstone. Cross the river to find the cave entrance.

In the inn there's an amusing encounter with the
landlord's wife, particularly if you've noted the ladder outside
the inn earlier. You'll find Kelvin inside. He'll tell you about
his lost harp and that the riddle master has it. The riddle
master's tower is located on an island way down southeast of the
island. Take a bearing from the most eastern point east of the
White Wizard Tower and sail your boat south until you sight the
island. Use the crystal ball as a navigation aid. You'll also
meet Thaer who tells you about the harp.

Sub quests identified, in order of battle
difficulty:

Donner's Mine

Tower of Riddles

Dragon Island

Donner's
Mine

Map reference

090/359

Map on a 28 x 9 grid.

Cave entrance in rocks located due west of
Gemstone.
You can enquire about Donner in the inn.

Entry point is from the southeast heading west.
Keep south and west to use your pickaxe on rocks prior to
fighting cave rats to the north. Forgive my memory, but I believe
that there's a set of bones to be found at the end of the passage
here. Search them to find loads of treasures: 845 gold, 3
lockpicks and weapons, armour and a potion.

Return to take a passage north. Keep north to go
west through a door and west again to fight more cave rats. Go
south then west and meet spiders. Follow the passage north and
just before the passage turns east again find the door that leads
to Donner. At the end of the passage east is a barrel containing
four torches. Look for Donner and give him Bothor's letter. He'll
then tell you about the Dwarven Crown into which is set a piece
of the Amberstar. The dwarves live in a volcano in a valley to
the east of Twinlake. If you bring the crown back to Donner he'll
prise the Amberstar free for you. Take the letter Donner gives
back to Bothor in Illien. He'll tell you about the puzzlemouth
password necessary to enter the Dwarf Mine.

Tower
of Riddles

Map reference

Tower

365/368

Riddle Masters House

377/361

Map five levels: All on 9 x 9 grids.

Located on an island way down southeast of the
main island.

Visit the riddle master in his house to talk
about Kelvin and his harp. The riddle master throws down a
challenge and gives you the key to his tower which is located on
a nearby island.

Entry point on the first section is from the
east. Use the key on the first door and go northwest to find a
puzzlemouth ("Everyone listens to it again and
again. Though it never says a word. Guess what is so silent in
sleep you lie upon it?") - say "Ear".
This opens up a door behind the party in the centre of the map
and releases rats. Fight the rats and head northeast to find
stairs to the next section.

Entry point here is from the northeast heading
west. A passage south leads to a pit which merely drops you down
to level one. Take the second passage south and fight more rats,
then head east through six false walls before going north to a
puzzlemouth. There's another puzzlemouth two squares west of this
one - go south and north again to find it. The riddles are
inter-related and took a phone call to Germany to resolve. I was
climbing the walls for a week and my Thesaurus wasn't helping at
all. To the question "It flew featherless, into a
tree leafless. Who ate it?" the answer is "Sun".
To the question "A woman came mouthless and ate the
bird featherless. Who was flying?" the answer is "Snow".
Easy when you know how! The correct answers open up a corridor
east in the western passage where rats are waiting. Ignore the
teleport to the south as it merely sends you back down again.
Head north and east to climb another set of stairs.

Entry point in the third section is from the
mid-east. Ahead of the party is a puzzlemouth: "What
has no body but is still visible?" - answer "Shadow".
The rocks to the north disappear. There are purpurslimes (yes,
that is the right word!) waiting to the northwest and east. Once
disposed of, go to the western corridor and south through a door
to meet another set of these strangely named monsters. Round a
couple of corners to another puzzlemouth. To the riddle "Neither
air nor wind are as fast as I, I travel through worlds never seen
by human eye. I am here and there in seconds."
forget turning up your copy of Cosmos, the answer is "Thought".
The rocks south of the first puzzlemouth open up allowing access
to stairs in the southeastern area.

Entry point on the fourth level is heading north
in the eastern half of the level. There's an anti-light square on
the third square up just before the door. Ignore the teleport in
the passage south beyond the door as this takes you right back to
a sarcastic riddle master. Enter the door that leads south to
find a puzzlemouth: "Once white as snow, then green
as clover, then red as blood. You know me well." -
answer "Cherry". The route south down
the extreme west passage opens but you must fight three sets of
skeletons on your way to the next stairway. In addition there are
two anti-light squares in the southern passage.

Entry point in the fifth and final section is in
the northeast. South through a couple of doors to fight rats just
beyond the second door. Then through a third door in the west to
fight purpurslimes. North to a puzzlemouth: "It is a
beautiful bridge. No man has ever crossed it. It is a wonderful
sight because the waters hang over it." - answer "Rainbow".
The wall north opens and you fight another set of purpurslimes.

There are then four sets of stairs in front of
the party. From the west:

Fight purpurslimes in the north and south
rooms.

Go north to find the harp in a chest to
the west. You can use the teleport to exit the tower.

Go south to fight sprites and goblins.

To the north and south fight skeletons
and mummies.

Return to the riddle master and use the
"Eye" on the harp to receive the last riddle. "You
do it all the time. It is nothing but it is everything. It is the
greatest riddle of all in the universe" (wow!) -
answer "Life". I think that you now
receive a scroll.

Back to the tower to use the harp at the point in
the first corridor where you hear the harp. A door opens up to
the south. Head west fighting one set of rats and discover 2158
gold, a Sickle of Returning (boomerang), a Pipe of Levitation and
a Wand of Winds. Hightail it back to Illien and return the harp
to Kelvin who gives you a piece of
Amberstar as a reward. It's fun to play the harp as there
are 19 separate pieces of music with some intriguing titles, I
was quite loathe to hand it back!

Pharaoh's
Tomb

Map reference

290/270

Map nine areas:

Entrance area: 7 x 11, then 18 x 18.

There are six shrine areas which all
appear on the same auto-map, so it's
either six times 21 x 10 or one
43 x 32.

The final graves area: 23 x 23.

Be well prepared with rations and potions before
entering the tomb. The wall closes behind the
party after the first puzzlemouth,
so the only way out is via the correct teleport
after umpteen battle or in a wooden box back to
Shandra (and that's presuming you
haven't "died" earlier in the game and
blown your resurrection staff).

Located in a desert area in the southeast near
the coast. Entry point is in the south. Head north to the
puzzlemouth and say "Relanukh". Move north and pray
you're well equipped as the wall closes behind the party. At the
junction go east and south to descend stairs to a new section.
Head east through a door and keep east to meet your first, but by
no means last, encounter with skeletons. Through the next door
and round the corner to find a chest with a sun key. Back
upstairs now to go west and south down the next set of stairs to
another point in the next level. North to find a door where you
need to use the sun key. Fight more skeletons through this door.
Keep east till you find a long passage leading north and pass
over four sets of bodies. Yuk!

Through the door west and south down the corridor
to find six teleports, three to the east and three to the west.
All take you to separate areas in the shrine level. Each of these
relate to the name of a god and it is under these names that I'll
explain each section:

Nut

Geb

South
then east just past the first door. Go north to scatter
the skeletons before continuing south and east. In the
southern passage take the passage north to find another
set of skeletons, then regain passage and south before
going north to the puzzlemouth. Say "Nut" and
it's the same format. In the chest is a robe.

Entry
point is in the northwest. Head east after the first door
and, passing a door south, fight skeletons in the
northeast. Return to the door south and go west, fighting
skeletons through a door west. South and then east again
and another battle before finding a puzzlemouth. Say
"Geb" and the wall opens to the east allowing
progress north. Battle with mummies and skeletons to
allow you free access to a chest containing the Armour of
Geb. Through the door east to find the teleport back to
the red circle square just north of the original
teleport.

Harachte

Bala

Yes,
I think they did miss an "I" out, but when you
see the levitation (sorry - lavitation!) scroll spelling,
you know that Thalion's quality control lost some
vigilance somewhere along the way. Same entry point and
same scenario. Three sets of skeletons to bash before
finding the puzzlemouth in the southeast and saying
"Harachte". In the chest is the Staff of
Harachte.

Same
entry point. Once through the third door head north to
find the enemy through the second door north and again in
the northeast area. Back to head through the door south
and head progressively east to find another puzzlemouth.
Take time out to dispose of skeletons to the north just
before you enter the door to the puzzlemouth. Say
"Bala" to go north. After the battle find a
black necklace in the chest. Then teleport back to the
red circle.

Gala

Sobek

This
area's a little trickier due to the spinners. Watch your
compass as there are two down the central corridor and
another in the central southern area. Again three sets of
skeletons to find before locating the puzzlemouth in the
southeast. Say "Gala" and find a Broach of Gold
and diamonds in the chest.

Same
entry point. South then east stopping only to bash
skeletons hiding behind a door to the north in the
southern centre of the map. Then north. Skeletons again
behind a door west in the mid-eastern area. West past one
more set of skeletons to say "Sobek" to the
puzzlemouth and the battle. Find a good longbow in the
chest.

Now we're done with the teleports, so it's back
to the northern passage to continue west. You will turn south,
keep south and ignore the passage west for now. In the passage
south go to the end of each alcove where you'll be asked to show
each of the treasures obtained from the chests. There are three
in this area: Geb, Bala and Sobek. The other three are to the
west of the map. En-route to the Harachte, Nut and Gala alcoves
find a chest in the northwest containing a rope and a spade.
Battle with skeletons just south of this point. In the southwest
area is also a chest containing a rope and a pickaxe. You'll
fight skeletons before reaching the chest. Upon showing the last
treasure return to the northern passage to find the way open to a
teleport. Enter this to be taken to the graves area.

Graves
Area

Entry point is in the southeast heading north.
You cannot pass the light ahead of you. Enter a false wall just
before the light to either east or west. Skeletons are waiting
for you. Head north after the fight and return through a false
wall to the original passage having bypassed the light. There are
loads of crossroads in this area. Salient points are that there
are two spinners at crossroads, one around the central northeast
and another in the southwest. Another spinner in the central
northwest area is next to an area with doors galore. There are
mummies and skeletons to fight here. The light in the central
north passage teleports you to the bottom of a passage in the
northeast. One light in the southwest teleports the party
slightly southeast, not far, and the light next to where you
land, sends you back again.

There are three sets of skeletons beyond the
false wall. One set in the northeast and the other two to the
southwest. The interesting section is to be found in the
northwest area of the map. In the central west find a door north
with alcoves each side. As you pass through, the wall will seal
behind you. Each alcove in the passage ahead contains a chest in
which there are treasures beyond the dreams of avarice (thanks to
a certain C. Dickens for the quote). There's far too much to
carry, so be reassured that you can enter Pharaoh's Tomb again
and ultimately carry off all seven chests worth of goodies.

First you have to get out of here. Rest now and
recharge your health and spell casting points. As you step on the
square that leads to the third alcove, the wall ahead opens.
Revealed now are mummies and skeletons plus the dreaded Relanukh.
After the battle recuperate as there is another set of skeletons
waiting outside near an oasis. The piece of
Amberstar is in the third chest up on the east side. The
blue disc is in the fourth chest up on the west. When you've
loaded your party up, head north to find two puzzlemouths. Don't
enter any of the three doors yet as two of them are death traps.
To the question "What does everyone wants to become
but no-one wants to be?" say "Old",
and to "Hole by hole - but still it holds"
say "Chain". The eastern door is then
the only one remaining, so it's north into the sunlight. The tomb
entrance is north of the oasis. Fight the last set of skeletons
and hightail it to the nearest shop in your new found transport.

Swamp
Station

Map reference

172/286

Map on a 38 x 37 grid.

Located in the south, to the northeast of
Gemstone.

Access is gained via a small house. Go past the
old lady and south to gain entrance. Entry point is in the
southeast heading north. At the puzzlemouth say
"Water". A passage south leads to rocks that can only
be unblocked by "unlocking" eight separate keyholes,
which are located deep within the swamp station. The water thus
released clears this set of rocks and another set further along
this passage. The "keys" are various precious stones
that the party finds in other island locations as well as two
actually in the swamp station.

Head north again and take the next passage west.
Fight three sets of swamp rats in this area. There's nothing else
of interest here. Return to the passage and head north again
before yet again going west. The door north yields up more rats.
West again to another door north to find a yellow painted circle.
Not to bore you with the rest of this area. The circles to
discover and their relevant keys are:

Yellow circle

Use Bernstein (German for amber and can be bought
from the shop in Twinlake)

Brown circle

Use Earth Stone (find in the southwest area)

Multi-coloured circle

Use Rainbow Stone (find in a chest in the northeast)

Blue circle

Use Topaz (found on your travels elsewhere)

White circle

Use Diamond (find in Pharaoh's Tomb, grave area)

Green circle

Use Emerald (ditto)

Red circle

Use Ruby (ditto)

Light blue circle

Use Mountain Crystal (found somewhere)

I apologise for the two stones whose source I
don't know. Frankly until you enter the swamp station, you
haven't a clue that the stones have a purpose and can't be sold
just like the gems can. I was storing them up for a rainy day and
didn't realise their significance.

Other rock areas can be cleared with a spade in
one instance and a pickaxe in another. In the far northwest is
reference to the rune chart that came with the game. Rather
irrelevant halfway through the game! In the northeast is a chest
that contains a paper that gives you the keyhole/ key
relationship described above. There aren't many rats to fight,
roughly three sets in the northwest, one in the northeast, one in
the centre and two in the southwest. The map locator is found
once both sets of rocks in the south passage are cleared.
"Action" it to place it in the grey window and from now
on it's much easier to find your way around the island.

Dragon
Keep

Map reference

102/078

Map two areas:

One on a 19 x 27 grid.

The other on a 29 x 29 grid.

Located on an island northwest of the island.
Travel northwest
of the northern jetty on the raft that's waiting
there.

Entry point is from the mid south. Head north to
meet Bolina, a thief. If you've room, recruit him as he's got
some useful items. Say "Gelinda" to the puzzlemouth to
open up the wall north. The door ahead leads to a large lock
which needs an eagle key to activate it. Both the passage east
and west have firebirds waiting to ambush you. The puzzlemouth to
the west needs the answer "Lugthir". The password is
obtained by seeing a statue in the northeast area of the map. To
reach it, take the passage east of the large lock. Beyond the
first set of firebirds are another four sets in the southeast
area and two more in the north. The puzzlemouth opens up the wall
and the party teleports to the second section of the map. The new
area is entered at a crossroad in the eastern section. To the
southeast are two sets of firebirds. Through the door west and
north to fight two more sets and find a teleport. Don't enter
this yet as it is the route back to the puzzlemouth on the first
level. Take the door east again and again fight two sets of
firebirds. Take either eastern door north or south and east again
to one set of firebirds. East once more to find two more sets of
firebirds. South now through a door to another lot of firebirds.
Then south down the passage to another door south. For
completeness sake go west and north before entering the door
south to blast the penultimate set of firebirds. Through the door
south then west, south, east then south and west to fight the
last set of firebirds. In the western alcove is the eagle key.
Use the teleport in the other passage to land right in front of
the door that leads to the large lock. Use the eagle key on the
lock to open up the wall north of the lock. Take the stairs up.

There's room to map this new section on your
level one map. Just miss one square north as you enter the Old
Hall of Knights. Through the door north and keep north to fight
firebirds in the northern passage. Then through the door west to
enter a room with a door south. Gird up your loins and so on as
the dragon awaits. It's got around 500 hit points to dispose of
so I hope you've got plenty of tornado spells or scrolls to use
on it. Once you've overcome the dreaded dragon, go south to find
the nest with the egg and a piece of
Amberstar. In addition you recover the key that will
unlock the door to the homeward teleport on Jonathan's "Lost
Island" to recover another piece of
Amberstar. There are also four gems here and a Broach of
Luck. Take the egg back to Illien and give it to Pelanis. In
return you receive a super present - the flute that gives you the
power to call on the eagle and thus fly everywhere. One of the
first places to zoom off to is...

The
Guild of Monks

Map reference

177/044

No automatic mapping available, but it's only a
small area.

Located in the middle of a swamp in the northeast
of the island.

Land on the island and say "Mork" to
the puzzlemouth. Strictly speaking you shouldn't pick this
information up till you've been to Snakesign Village where the
party can meet with Melchlor. Enter the guild to meet Balthar.
Say "Quest" and he'll tell you about Bothor, the
jewellery dealer in Gemstone. He'll also refer to The Guild of
Rangers where you should go to meet Annorel. Also say
"Library" to be referred to his wife Melina. Saying
"Document" gives a reference to Melgrim who was one of
the thirteen wizards who cast the spell against Tarbos. He's gone
to ground in a cave beneath the whirlpool and has a piece of the
Amberstar. Leave this area till last.

Go west and meet Melina and say
"Potions", then go south to discover the stock that she
tells you of. You can also buy lots of useful potions in the
guild so use that gold up and purchase spell regeneration and
healing 5 potions.

The
Guild of Rangers

Map reference

080/233

Located
on an island off the west coast of the main island.

Enter the guild and go north. If Annorel is not
around, accelerate time until she appears, then ask about the
"Amberstar". She'll tell you that the original rangers'
guild is elsewhere, in the bay to the right of Crystal, and that
there is a piece of Amberstar hidden
in the old cellar rooms. You'll then receive a Rod of Opening
with which you open up the entrance to the guild.

Dwarf
Mine

Map reference

260/225

Map three areas: All on 19 x 19 grids.

Located in the north of a swamp.

The swamp is northwest of Pharaoh's Tomb.

Make sure you have a levitation scroll
before entering.

Once you arrive on the "sandy" part
outside the mine entrance, the party has to fight spiders and
cave rats. After the battle read the sign "Doras Mine"
then go to the puzzlemouth and say "Sarod". This
password is obtained from Bothor after Donner's letter is
delivered. Enter the mine only to fall down after four steps into
another level. Head north then either east or west to discover a
teleport in the south. You are sent southwest. Go through the
door north and fight rats before travelling east. Ignore the
teleport in the passage to the south of the door east for now.
You will need to return here when all areas of the mine have been
explored. The teleport takes you back to the corridor in which
you fell when first entering this level. Follow the corridor
round then north to fight more rats. North and east to meet
spiders. East again and south. At a junction south first go west
and down a corridor east, just before a door west, use a pickaxe
on the rocks to reveal three sets of rats. At the end of the
passage find one red and one blue mushroom. Take these to Mera's
House to benefit. Through the door west fight spiders. Return to
the junction and head east and south. Beyond the door south fight
another set of spiders before seeing a set of stairs to the next
(and third) level. The stairs take the party to enter this level
from the southeast corner. Fight spiders before wending your way
east and then north to battle some rats. North again through two
doors. Keep north once past the second door and enter a false
wall. Follow the passage round to find a chest containing a mine
key. Regain the corridor east and make your way to a set of
stairs in the southeast region of the map. You'll fight another
lot of rats and two sets of spiders en route. The centre area of
the map will be accessed later.

Now we're back on the entrance level. Heading
from the east beware the spinner at the first crossroads.
Initially go south past some rats to discover three torches in a
barrel. Then straight north from the crossroads through a door
and then east and north to zap rats again. More rats through a
door west in the northern corridor. Keep west to fight spiders in
the west before heading south. Through the second door south a
"shadow" drops down in front of the party. Make his day
and keep south. Fight again in the south at the end of a passage.
Then east and north to use the mine key on a keyhole and discover
the passage out to the fresh air. Back now to the first level to
enter the teleport mentioned earlier. From the corridor you land
in, stand beneath the pit and use a levitation spell. You are
taken up to level two. Enter the door north. To the east through
the door find a chest with 546 gold and some mithral mail. Down
the adjacent alley find two gems and 859 gold. The corridor to
the west leads south through a door to the crown. Back down the
pit to follow the convoluted route out of the mine. Take the
crown back to Donner's mine for him to extract the piece of Amberstar.

The
Old Ranger Guild

Map reference

310/107

Map two levels:

One on a 9 x 18 grid.

The other on an 18 x 19 grid.

Located on an island in the bay east of Crystal.

Use the Rod of Opening obtained from Annorel
(from the new Ranger's guild) to enter from the southeast. Before
heading north, enter the door at the end of the passage to find
various articles of clothing. Don't take or wear the Clothes of
Moira as they are cursed and weigh tons. Do grab the Robes of
Nickademus. North then and through the door to be confronted by
three sets of bloodsuckers! In the alcove ahead find 45 gold and
an iron ring. The door to the southeast hides more bloodsuckers
and 23 gold plus a buckler. West of the door is an alcove with 29
gold and a silver ring. Search all the alcoves in this section to
find other small portions of gold and treasures. North again to
discover a staircase down to the next level. Before descending go
west and through a door north to find 89 gold and a gem. More
vital treasure is to be found going east and keeping northeast
through a false wall to find another staircase down. This leads
again to another section of the lower level. Enter the door west
of the staircase to open a chest that contains 7 torches and a
rusty key. Return to the first set of stairs and descend into a
smallish area. Make your way east to find ranger bones and lots
of useful items plus 348 gold. In the north of this section are a
set of bloodsuckers. Back upstairs and down the other set of
stairs and head east, there's nothing of use to the west. As you
travel east look in the first set of alcoves north and south to
pick up loads of useful herbs. Keep at least one packet of herbs
to give to Atacar in the Cave of Manyeyes later in the game.
Through the door east to encounter bloodsuckers and again through
the second door south. Go right down to the southeast to polish
off another set. Use your pickaxe on the rocks to the west and
fight two more sets of bloodsuckers before using the rusty key on
the keyhole in the wall. A door is created to the south. Enter it
and go north through two doors to be rewarded with the discovery
of a chest containing a piece of Amberstar,
7 gems and 825 gold.

Snakesign
Village

Map reference

217/345

Map Snakesign on a 15 x 15 grid.

Located on the large island due south of the main
island. Can only be reached by flying on the
eagle or
by use of the windgates. You can't use those
unless you've got the artefact that's inside
Sanri's Temple!

There are four points of entry to the village:
North, south, east or west. In the southern area meet Melchlor, a
monk who tells you about Sansri, the goddess of snakes. Say
"Mork" and "Temple" for further information.
Note the ladder leaning against the locked window for a smile
later on upstairs in the inn.

To the west is the food shop, rations here only
cost 5 gold so stock up here in future if money is a problem. In
the northwest is a healer who you'll need if you haven't equipped
yourself with the appropriate healing herbs once inside Sansri's
temple. To the northeast meet Shi'ra who Melchlor referred to
earlier. Say "Temple" to be advised that the entrance
to the temple only opens at midnight. To the east also is a wise
man who'll assess (identify) your possessions for a price. In the
southeast is a shop that sells an item you'd have given your eye
teeth for earlier - yes, it sells lockpicks amongst other things!
Programmers can be right so-and-so's now and then. In the centre
of the village is the tower inn. Speak to the young man inside to
learn that, once inside the temple, stepping on the snake symbols
causes the male members of the party damage. Upstairs meet the
landlord's wayward wife who seems to think woodpeckers can climb
ladders!

Temple
of Sansri

Map reference

199/357

Map five areas:

Entrance level on a 19 x 28 grid.

This has a small
sub-level on a 6 x 9 grid.

Sanctum level on a 19 x 28 grid.

Two tower levels on 9 x 9 grids.

Located southwest of Snakesign Village.

Entry point is from the mid-south. Go north and
wait until midnight, then slip into the temple after fighting
snakes. In the next room there's a pit to the east that you
should avoid. It drops into a small sub-level with three
teleports. The northern one takes you back into Snakesign village
and the other two take you into the vestibule. Going west, you
will receive damage as you pass over the snake sign. Fight more
snakes before passing through the door north. More snake signs in
the next room but head north via either east or west door. The
statue you pass advises the party that it needs to find eight
signs and join them. North to fight snakes and then use a pickaxe
on the rocks ahead. Behind them find treasure amid the bones,
potions, lockpicks, 875 gold, Brooch of Luck, iron ring,
excellent Armour of Endurance and a super scimitar (these things
cost a fortune). You cannot progress north now without entering
false walls to the east and west. These by-pass the closing
walls. Both the eastern and western routes should be explored.

First the west. Going west through the false wall
note the sign "P" from the puzzlemouth. Head north then
east to see stairs down. Leave these till all the entrance level
and the towers are fully explored. Head south fighting two sets
of snakes. Look out for and avoid the snake signs in the floor.
You can get through by entering false walls. Eventually you'll
see a passage south that leads to stairs up to the left tower. To
the west and north at this point is a set of snakes to dispose
of. You enter the left tower from the southeast. Head north at
the junction and find a puzzlemouth with the sign "T"
in the eastern passage. Regain the corridor west and enter the
door north to get an "E" sign. Along the corridor
passing through an anti-magic square, then relight your lamp and
head north and pass through a blindness trap before fighting
snakes. Onwards over a snake sign in the floor. In the northwest
search the corpse for 621 gold, 4 torches, 2 potions, a snake
ring (which is needed on the lower level; you must ensure that
the ring is actioned by a female character) and clothing. Through
the door east fight snakes and obtain the sign "E".

Now return to enter the false wall east. Again
ignore the stairs that lead to the same level down that the other
set of stairs to the west do. Going south fight two sets of
snakes and again you can side-step the snake signs in the floor
by the use of false walls. Same scenario as before with snakes to
the east before climbing up into the right tower. Enter the right
tower from the southwest. Through the door north is the sign
"N". East and north to fight a set of snakes before
entering the door west for an "R" sign. Fight two more
lots of snakes before encountering a snake sign in the floor and
a poison cloud trap beyond. Enter the door for an "S"
sign.

Back now to enter one of the two down staircases.
Entry is in the mid-north. Gain the main corridor via a door
south and firstly explore west. Through another door south after
a few bends. Fight the snakes and walk through the snake sign
maze to find another door south. Once through you'll see two
adjacent doors. The eastern door leads to a scrap with snakes and
the southern one to another door south. North of here use your
pickaxe on the rocks to find, I think, a small golden key. South
again to find a door and use the golden key. Fight more snakes,
then over the snake sign to discover three alcoves and a statue.
The message on the statue says "Sansri". The central
alcove contains a chest with loads of good goodies: 2549 gold
(hope you're not too weighed down as there's loads more to come),
Globe of Harachte (gives light when actioned), Brooch of
Waterwalk, bi-handed sword, etc.. The two other alcoves should be
entered as they both raise the level of your characters' skills.

Back then to the entrance corridor to go down the
eastern route. Fight snakes in the east first. Entering the door
south you'll be confronted with moving walls. Make your way south
watching out for two snake signs in the floor en-route. Through
three more doors south, fighting a set of snakes after the second
door, to enter a false wall going east. Once in the false wall,
head north then east through another false wall then south to
gain access to a passage east. To the north in this passage talk
to the puzzlemouth to get the "S" sign, then use your
pickaxe on the rocks to the south to step on a pressure plate
that triggers an opening in a passage to the west. To access this
opening, return to the first false wall and go south to see the
opening to the west. There's a stun gas trap before confronting
the puzzlemouth and saying "Serpents", which is the
result of the sign anagram. The way opens into the inner temple.
Fight the snakes, then action the snake ring - only a female
character can do this - to enter the throne chamber. After the
battle look behind the throne to find loads of treasure, gold x
2563 & 2857, the wind necklace, Sansri's collar and whip.
Enter the wall behind the chests to find the piece of Amberstar to the right and the
pact between Marmion and Bralkur. There's also another 4256 gold
which I doubt you'll be able to carry. Make sure that you've
mended and healed everyone before entering the teleport, as
there's a further three battles ahead, before the party can leave
by the final teleport. Now you can use the windgates or use the
eagle to fly around. The map location of Windgate Island is
118/313.

Cave
of Manyeye

Map reference

146/011

Map two main areas:

Castle of Manyeye tower level on a 33 x
33 grid and

the other level on a 23 x 23 grid.

The village is small enough not to bother
mapping.

Located within the whirlpool which is north of
the main island.

Be warned that this is a tough area and that
characters should be well equipped with
potions, rations and light spells before
entering. There is no way back until the castle
has been found and explored. However, should
entry be via the windgates, a key is
needed, as the key is only to be found on the
other side of the door. You need to first
enter by the whirlpool but can use the windgate
if you need to return, rather than go
through the pain of walking through the marshes.

Maps - the cave area needs to be hand drawn and
it's a bit of a pig. I've attempted below to show roughly where
the places of interest are:

Sand

Sand

Grass

"Ships End Village"

Entry point

Sand

Ship wrecks

Sand

Marsh

Sand

Sand

Marsh

Treasure north of volcano

Castle

Marsh

Grass

Once you've landed the party needs light. Avoid
the shipwrecks as they cause damage. You'll almost immediately
encounter an octopus or two. These beasts have something in the
region of 700 hit points, they are really tough cookies. I think
that there are around four sets of these yo-yos around. Make your
way to the village and enter the inn to meet Atacar downstairs on
the patio. The statues have no significance. If you're weighed
down with gold there's a good chance to get rid of some by buying
a scimitar from the counter. Say "Aching" after
greeting him and give him a packet of herbs. He tells you about
the treasure map hidden in a tree close to his brother's grave.
Say "Brother" and "Manyeye" for more. The
tree is located south of the grave with the fresh flowers.

The map shows part of the cave with a volcano at
the centre. This is to be found in the southeast and is en-route
to the castle. Search just to the north of the volcano, the north
pile of ash. The chest you find contains two lockpicks, a piece of Amberstar, 2478 gold, Horn of
Food, Orb of Magic, an assassin's blade and a mace. Still in the
village visit the house to meet Sheba, a level seven ranger, talk
to her to learn the story of Manyeye. If you've a spare slot
recruit her, otherwise it's off to find the castle via the
volcano and the treasure. Doubtless you'll encounter many swamp
creatures on the way. Go southeast then west, north and west
through a marsh then south past the sand through another marsh.
South through a narrow channel and west, then north onto the
grass and finally to the castle.

Castle
of Manyeye

Entry point is from the mid-south. The door shuts
behind the party as you walk forward. At the first crossroads go
west and south into an alcove to search bones and find lots of
treasure including a tower shield, a two-handed sword, a metal
helmet and plate mail. Head into the southwest region to fight
skullhunters and use your pickaxe on rocks to expose a set of
stairs up. Up the stairs find a false wall to the east, then go
north to fight skullhunters in the laboratory to the south.
Ensure that you trigger the pressure plate by stepping on the
symbol in the north before leaving. These pressure plates open up
walls in a particular area later in the castle. Return to the
entrance crossroads and go into the southeastern region. Again
just one set of skullhunters here and, to the north from the
fight, a set of stairs up. Up the stairs you find a girl
imprisoned in a cage. Dispose of the two mutants before hearing
her story. She can't be released until the cell key has been
located. This will be found later in the castle. Before leaving,
enter the north wall of the cage room to step on the symbol. In
the northeast find another gang of skullhunters. Beware of a
spinner at a crossroad in the mid-east of the map. Go west at
this point, fight more skullhunters and find a red statue.
Examine the statue twice to find two gems. West and south of the
statue climb to the stairs.

At the top of the stairs go east to find
Melgrim's diary. Now west to the knights hall, note the wine
goblets - brrr. There are skeletons in the southern room but
avoid the pit as it dumps you back outside the castle. In the
northwest open the chest to discover the cell key that'll allow
the girl in the cage to be released. There are two sets of
skullhunters to dispose of. In the south is a bedroom with a
chest that contains 6420 gold but more importantly a master key
for use on the next level. It is this area that you will need to
return to, once all the pressure plate symbols have been
activated.

Back then to release the girl, only to find her
transforming into a doppelgänger. Defeat the monster to be
rewarded with a Necklace of Defence and be thanked by the girl's
spirit as she transforms into a skeleton. Go now to the mid-west
area of the map, enter through a door west. As you head west, you
pass through anti-light squares, whether going the northern or
southern route. Travel clockwise round a series of statues that
give, collectively, the following message: "Find. the
(beware the spinner between this statue and the next) secret
doors. Meet him. way. is. Manyeye. from. only. escape. the".
I'm sure you get the gist. Back through the door and north to
find a teleport. Bash the skullhunters before entering it and be
sent into the northeast area of the map. North to fight
skullhunters then east and south to use pickaxe on rocks to
expose more stairs up.

Upstairs read the sign on the door
"Transporter Room". So this is the place referred to in
the diary. To the north is a room with three teleports. The
western passage has a door west. Fight the skullhunters, then go
south through a false wall to step on another symbol. Avoid the
centre of the three teleports, it's a trap. The picture on the
wall says "Transformer defective, please do not use" Ho
ho ho, Thalion! The other teleports say something about new
force.

Back down to go right into the northeast corner
and enter a teleport that returns the party to an alcove in the
southwest of the map. Retrace your steps to the place where you
first teleported and go west. Look out for a spinner at the
crossroads. Keep west then north past skullhunters and round to
another staircase up. The sign upstairs says "Store
Room" and there are packets of herbs to be found in the
northwest barrel. Fight skullhunters, then find loads of herbs in
the northeast. Enter a false wall and in the southeast step on
the final symbol. Before returning to the stairs in the centre of
the map, explore the mid-north area to find four alcoves. From
west to east the alcoves contain armour & robes, weapons,
helmets and five torches & six potions. There are a set of
skullhunters to the west of the alcoves. Back upstairs to find
that a passage has opened up in the north allowing the party to
progress. But first you must go through a series of traps: A
blinding light in the first room and a green mist in the second,
finally poison gas spores causing you disease in the third.

Onwards then to enter the next level. Entry point is from the
southeast. Proceed west, onwards through a false wall. Should you
explore the northern passage first, you find a message saying
"If you find no way, search where it is not possible".
Once through the wall another message to the north of here says
"You will see at the centre, the centre, and next to it is
the only true way to go". Make your way southwest to find
three teleports. The western one takes you into the northeast
area where you find three more teleports. Use the centre one here
as the other two transport you back to the start of the level.
Again you'll see three teleports, again take the centre one as
the other two again lead back to the start. Now in the third room
are three more teleports. Once more take the centre teleport to
the room south and fight mutants there. Go east and south to
discover a chest with a piece of the Amberstar plus ten gems.
Return west to teleport back into the southwest. Back again in
the southwest, take the eastern teleport to be transported to the
northwest. Immediately fight mutants. Before going north to
teleport back, go south and through a door east to discover loads
of scrolls. It's wizard heaven here. Once past the mutants, there
are white, grey and black wizard scrolls galore. I dread to think
what level one needs to be to learn some of these, as even at the
end of the game before the final confrontation, I didn't have
enough experience to learn some of these. Once loaded up, return
to the north to be teleported back and now enter the middle
teleport to be transferred to the mid northeast of the level.
Travel south passing a group of mutants and then north. Ignore
the door north for the moment and go south again then west past
more mutants. Continue past the doors north and south, there's
nothing behind them, to the crossroads where there's a spinner.
To the north and through the door east are twelve potions to be
found. To the south and through the door east are two iron and
silver rings plus a magical necklace and a dagger. I didn't enter
either the northwest or southwest teleports, at a guess they land
you back at the start of this level.

Back then to the door north and use the master key on the
lock. Save the game and enter the door west to fight
Manyeye (also known in SSI games as a Beholder). Cast anti-magic
spells at him and you'll win the day. After the battle you
receive the gate key and gain a windgate necklace. Leave this
room to head north and east to use the gate key on the door east
that leads to the windgate and out.

Altar
of Reunification

Map reference

049/329

Located
in a forest clearing in the southwest of the island.

Now you have all the pieces of the Amberstar it's
time to join them together. This then provides the key to let the
party enter the Fortress of Godsbane and thus to the endgame
battle. The pieces must be laid in a strict order. Failure means
"Game over" time. Herewith the correct order:

1. Lay Knowledge

Mork

2. Lay the Ally

Bralkur

3. Lay Master of the Sea

Sobek

4. Lay Mother of Life

Gala

5. Lay Falsehood

Sansri

6. Lay Friend of Eagles

Nut

7. Lay Evil

Lord Tarbos

8. Lay Power of the Earth

Geb

9. Lay Mother of Death

Bala

10. Lay the Fire

Harachte

11. Lay the Traitor

Marmion

12. Lay what is coming

Talmit

On laying the final section, the Amberstar
appears in the same window as the compass and map locator etc..
On then to Godsbane.

Fortress
of Godsbane

Map reference

209/047

Map three levels:

The first on a 38 x 38 grid and then

The tower and cellar levels both on 13 x
13 grids.

Located within a mountain range in the northeast.
Only accessible by air eagle.
The building near here can be explored at any
time. There are a few skeletons
and ghosts to vanquish and one or two treasures
to find.

Entry point is from the mid-south. Once through
the first door possession of the reunited Amberstar will open the
second. At the junction go west. Be wary down this corridor as at
each crossroad there is a spinner. In the southwest are two sets
of yellowslimes to fight and a third set up the first passage
north. Head north at the final crossroads of the spinner corridor
and go east. Down the third passage south is a chest containing a
host of good scrolls: Hurricane, Earthquake, Conversion of Dust,
two reincarnation and salvation scrolls plus a magic sphere and
two potions. At the end of the passage east is a door north.
Avoid the centre of this room as there are four spinners here. Go
north and west disposing of yellowslimes in the north. Through
the door west round a twisty passage and fight another set before
passing through a door north and finding another load of
yellowslimes. To the west is another set but your way lies east.
Make your way east then north meeting two sets of yellowslimes.
Then west and south past another set before entering a door south
in the centre of this area and flattening the final band of
yellowslimes. Hop down the stairs into the cellar.

Go either east or west in the cellar to find
doors east and west and battle a set of yellowslimes in each
room. The passage north in the centre of the southern corridor
finds Bralkur blocking the door north. Fear not, he's easy to
beat. In the chest beyond is a disintegration scroll and a Staff
of Runes which serves as the key into where Marmion meets his
nemesis. Return to your entry point on the first level and go
east till you find the door north. Fight yellowslimes - save your
magic spell points as these guys are resistant. Then west and
north to go east through a door. South here through a door south
then east. Through two doors north to find an area with four
teleports in the centre.

The southern teleport takes you just to the southwest of
your position. Round the bend to teleport into a corridor
in the west. No go here.

The eastern teleport takes you to the southwest and the
teleport ahead lands you in the same corridor as the
southern one, only just a little further on.

The northern teleport takes you just west and again you
teleport into the corridor as described above.

Finally the western teleport takes you west again, but
this time the teleport you enter next, sends you north.

You immediately have to fight yellowslimes. Head south after
the battle ignoring the teleport down the passage east you pass
en-route. This northeastern area contains three more sets of
yellowslimes. After wiping them out, find a door in the mid-north
heading south and enter to climb a staircase up to the tower
level. In the tower you'll find cave trolls to the east and west.
When you've destroyed them, travel south to go north into the
centre of the map fighting a band of cave trolls and yellowslimes
on the way. Use the Staff of Runes you found in the cellar on the
keyhole in the wall to access the door that leads to the final
confrontation.

Note that the wall closes behind the party as you advance.
Moving into a candlelit room you encounter twelve wizards and the
dreaded Marmion. They attack. You will be unable to use magic
against the foe but do cast anti-magic spells. Keep your front
men hacking until you destroy all the enemy.

Then walk forward into the light to activate the Amberstar.
Shandra then provides an escape teleport back into Twinlake,
where Lord Karwain addresses the party. Sit back and enjoy a
satisfactory end game sequence.